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Multislice CT in cardiac and coronary angiography
A F Kopp1, A Küttner, T Trabold
1Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Germany.
The British Journal of Radiology
|November 18, 2004
Summary
Multidetector-row CT (MDCT) offers faster cardiac imaging, visualizing coronary stenoses and plaque morphology non-invasively. This advanced CT technology shows promise for diagnosing artery disease, potentially replacing traditional methods.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Cardiovascular Diagnostics
- Radiology
Background:
- Mechanical multidetector-row CT (MDCT) systems with rapid rotation times are now available.
- Faster data acquisition enables quicker coverage of cardiac volumes compared to single-slice scanning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the capability of MDCT for non-invasive visualization and characterization of coronary artery disease.
- To assess MDCT's potential as a diagnostic tool prior to cardiac catheterization.
Main Methods:
- Utilized MDCT scanners with simultaneous acquisition of multiple slices and rapid rotation times.
- Employed retrospective gating with thin collimation (1 mm) for full cardiac volume coverage in one breath-hold.
- Investigated contrast-enhanced MDCT for plaque morphology differentiation.
Main Results:
- MDCT allows for significantly faster cardiac volume coverage.
- Studies suggest MDCT can visualize intracoronary stenoses and differentiate plaque morphology.
- Next-generation 16-row MDCT systems offer isotropic scanning with high temporal resolution.
Conclusions:
- Contrast-enhanced MDCT is a promising non-invasive technique for detecting, visualizing, and characterizing stenotic artery disease.
- MDCT may serve as a preliminary diagnostic tool, potentially replacing conventional methods like cardiac catheterization.